Update ESXi version

Its a very quick process to update ESXi version to the latest. This procedure is completed via esxcli going through a SSH session to the Server. The update takes around 5-10mins depending on the hardware resources of the server and the failure is minimal. But not to say that the things wont go wrong so please make a BACKUP before you proceed.

To start with you first need to download the latest ESXi patch from VMware website. You need have an account with VMware to download the patches.

Once downloaded copy over the patch to the ESXi host via SSH (you can use WinSCP on a windows machine).

Before proceeding with the patch process its recommended to put the host in maintenance mode. There will be a downtime involved for VM's residing on the host. So either you can turn them off or vMotion them to another host.

Now SSH to the ESXi host and run this command with the absolute path of the patch.